


summer sun, something's begun

by suhrealist



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Summer Camp, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, M/M, lowkey lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-15 16:08:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29192052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suhrealist/pseuds/suhrealist
Summary: If there’s one person that could ever drive Doyoung away from summer camp, it was Johnny Suh.So why on earth does Johnny have him feeling some type of waynow?
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 14
Kudos: 87
Collections: Johnny Fic Fest: Round Two





	summer sun, something's begun

**Author's Note:**

> #JS070
> 
> the playlist i wrote this fic to [x](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1eUsdPCyCSAJFOBOloOxn3?si=WXnltNs8R5W4PHPpGojT2g)

**Week 1**

Doyoung wasn’t always the biggest fan of the great outdoors. He would have been kicking and screaming at his parents the first time they dragged him to summer camp if he hadn’t been groggy from sleeping during the entire three hour car drive.

But he’s been coming back every year ever since that first summer, for more than a decade now. He’s grown to love the nature surrounding him, the trees that tower over him, the cool splash of lake water on hot days, the white noise of forest sounds that lull him to sleep every night. He loves the people and their boundless energy, the children and their enthusiasm, everyone. Well, except for…

“Bunny! You’re here!”

Ah. Speak of the devil.

If there’s one person that could ever drive Doyoung away from summer camp, it was Johnny Suh.

Johnny was a year older and only had one more summer of experience before Doyoung came, but he held it over the younger boy all the time. He always pestered him about what berries not to eat and how he shouldn’t venture out into the lake without a counselor.  _ We get it,  _ Doyoung thinks, you know this place like the back of your hand.

The most awkward year was when Johnny became a counselor while Doyoung was still a camper. He always over exaggerated his authority when it came to Doyoung, keeping an eye on him when it was nearing curfew, even though the older kids liked to hang around near the woods to smoke (he should know, he used to be one of them before he got his counselor’s badge).

When Doyoung signed up to be a counselor the next year, that was when all hell broke loose.

The Best Cabin trophy was coveted by everyone in the camp, mostly because of the special dinner that would be prepared for the winning campers and their counselor. Year after year, Doyoung exerted more effort than he ever did any other time of the year, just to win that prize. And year after year, without fail, Johnny freaking Suh would always come out on top.

And he  _ never  _ lets Doyoung forget that.

“Any special plans this summer?” Johnny asks, bringing Doyoung back to the present. He’s already got one of Doyoung’s bags in his hand, walking towards the counselor’s accommodations. It’s become a sort of tradition, Doyoung regretfully acknowledges. Johnny lives to annoy him by being the first person he sees every time he comes back to camp.

“Why would I tell  _ you? _ ” Doyoung replies, refusing to strain his neck to meet Johnny’s eyes and looking straight ahead.

“You wound me, Bunny. You know how much I miss you every year!” Johnny whines. Doyoung sees the pout on his lips when he side eyes him.

They continue like this all the way to their cabin, where they would be staying until the campers arrive the next day. Taeil’s already there, announcing that they would be meeting at the mess hall in thirty minutes. He leaves the room with Yuta following him, talking nonstop about whatever he was up to at university.

Doyoung starts unpacking his uniform, spreading it out on his bunk bed to air out the wrinkles. He sees Johnny hanging out with Ten, the Other Menace, and he rolls his eyes out of habit.

“I see you’re still on your ‘Johnny Suh is The Worst’ agenda,” Taeyong says, sidling up next to Doyoung and giving his old friend a tight hug.

“Shut up,” Doyoung hisses, but hugs Taeyong back anyway.

  
  


**Week 2**

Doyoung’s favorite part about coming back to camp is seeing how much his children have grown after not seeing them for a whole year. He’s always been the younger sibling, but he’s quickly realized that doting on the younger campers has become like a second nature to him. His heart’s been won over ever since tiny, nine year old Jeno said “You must be tired,” after a long day of hiking and offered him a spot on his picnic blanket.

He plays lifeguard and watches from the dock as the kids play in the lake. Johnny’s Little Menaces are splashing anyone who comes within a five foot radius and Jaemin’s unfortunately caught in the crossfire.

“Hey! Knock it off over there!” Doyoung raises his voice in an attempt to call their attention without having to get in the water. But Donghyuck just pokes his tongue out at him while Renjun tips over Jeno’s floaty.

“Let them play,” says a deep voice from behind Doyoung. He registers Johnny’s chuckle before he even sees him.

“They’re bullying my kids!” Doyoung retorts, but stays in his seat anyway.

“They’re having  _ fun _ , Bunny. You know what fun is, right?”

Doyoung ignores him as much as he can while Johnny busies himself with setting up an umbrella to shade the both of them. He does see the kids start playing a round of Marco Polo but he refuses to admit that Johnny was right. It’s a nice day and he can’t really be bothered to put up a fight, the warm summer sun making his entire body lethargic. He’s about to doze off when the sound of violent splashing wakes up his senses.

“Help! Jeno’s got a cramp!” Donghyuck’s high pitched screaming is so loud it’s like he’s right next to Doyoung.

Before he can even register the situation, Doyoung sees Johnny sprinting to the end of the dock and diving into the water. He would have admired his form if it wasn’t for the panic settling in his bones. He scrambles to get up, almost tripping over beach towels, before he reaches the water. He sees Jeno’s scrawny arms wrapped tight around Johnny’s shoulders, the both of them already making their way towards Doyoung. He helps Jeno up on the dock, wrapping a towel around his camper.

“Where does it hurt?” Doyoung asks. Jeno points to his left foot and Doyoung proceeds to stretch it out, working the cramped muscles. He hears Johnny telling the other kids to give them some space and he has to admit that he’s thankful for the assist.

“I can carry him to the infirmary while you wrap things up here,” Johnny suggests, crouching down next to Doyoung. He can feel the taller boy’s breathing against his cheek, still strained from the sudden work out. He swears the heat in his face is from the stress of the situation and not the close proximity.

“Thank you,” Doyoung manages to get out. He helps Jeno get on Johnny’s back and watches as the two leave. The chatter from the kids starts back up again, most of them talking about how cool Johnny was as he rescued Jeno. Doyoung just tries to smile and laugh while rounding up the excited kids and heading for the showers. 

He tries to shake off the image of Johnny’s white shirt, almost see-through, clinging around his muscles, but it feels like it’s already burned into the back of his eyelids.

  
  


**Week 3**

It feels like a switch goes off in Doyoung. He can’t keep up the energy to be annoyed with Johnny, still guilty about how slow his reflexes were when his campers needed him. How was he supposed to be in charge of all these kids when he couldn’t even react at that moment? But Johnny was there. He could take care of everything and Doyoung would just have to sit back and watch.

It should have frustrated him even more, but in the end… he was just grateful that he wasn’t alone.

His kids have almost completely forgotten the incident, already switching gears after talking about it the entire day. They were currently spending their down time doing arts and crafts with Taeyong and his younger batch of campers. For some reason, Jaemin really wanted to make flower crowns and who was he to deny his pleading face emoji look.

“I haven’t heard you yelling at Johnny the entire week, what gives?” Taeyong asks while he’s busy helping Jisung stick flowers on a piece of paper.

“He just… hasn’t given me any reason to.”

“What you mean to say is, you finally realized that Johnny’s just been helping you out this entire time and he’s really not a bad guy.”

Doyoung curses Taeyong’s innate ability to see right through him.

“He saved one of my campers while I completely froze up. How am I supposed to yell at him after  _ that _ ?” Doyoung mutters. Taeyong gives his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“Things happen, and sometimes we’re caught off guard. It’s not your fault. Besides, Johnny told me you were right behind him. Jeno was going to be fine and he’s lucky he had the both of you watching out for him.”

Jisung whines when his paper tears from too much glue and Jaemin just places a flower crown on his head to distract him, immediately calming him down.

_ Yeah,  _ Doyoung thinks.  _ They’re going to be just fine. _

“Speak of the devil,” Taeyong whispers, nudging Doyoung’s arm. Johnny’s walking towards them, his campers following dutifully behind him, carrying their little backpacks.

“Hey guys! Thought you might want to join us for a hike,” Johnny smiles that megawatt smile of his, the one that shows the dimple on his cheek and makes all the female counselors swoon.

“I wanna go!” Chenle jumps up and drags Jisung and Sungchan along with him. Taeyong sighs and gets up too, following behind his energetic kids.

“I’ll just help them pack their bags and we’ll meet you back here in five.”

Johnny nods and turns back to Doyoung, who’s suddenly feeling very cornered while sitting in the middle of an open field.

“Uh, I guess we’ll come too?”

“Great!” Johnny helps him pack all the art supplies without him having to ask and Doyoung wonders why his stomach feels strange all the way back to the cabins.

***

“Okay guys, buddy system!” Doyoung says when they reach the start of the trail. He’s not even surprised to see Jeno and Jaemin already paired up and ready to go. Some of the other campers play rock paper scissors to see who gets to stay with who, but he sees one boy standing off to the side, just watching everyone else.

“Hey, Taro,” Doyoung kneels down to be at eye level with the boy. It’s Shotaro’s first time at camp and it seems like it’s taking him some time to adjust. Doyoung feels his mother hen instincts kick in. “Do you wanna be my buddy?”

Shotaro nods at him and smiles, taking Doyoung’s outstretched hand. His heart swells just about ten times bigger.

“Everyone ready? Let’s go!” Johnny shouts over the kids’ chatter. Taeyong goes ahead with the younger kids to set the pace while Johnny brings up the rear with the older and more experienced campers. Doyoung stays in the middle of the group and tries his best to keep an eye on everyone.

He takes a deep breath, savoring the fresh air and sunlight. Being stuck in the city for most of the year had him feeling suffocated so coming back here and spending his days outdoors is a welcome respite. He has fun trying to spot different kinds of plants and birds with the campers, stopping once in a while to help them collect pinecones and interesting rocks.

They’re already nearing the end of the trail when he hears the older kids laughing and shouting behind him. Looking back, he sees them running around Johnny in circles, playing some version of tag where only the taller boy is after them. Donghyuck tries to escape by climbing up a tree and Doyoung knows he has to rush over before he gets any higher.

“Donghyuck! Be careful!” He shouts, after alerting Taeyong and asking him to watch everyone else.

“But Johnny’s gonna get me!” Donghyuck shouts back, his little arms clinging around a branch.

“You need to come down now, it’s not safe!”

“I — I can’t…” Doyoung hears the boy whimper, his feet scrambling to find a hold on the tree.

“Hyuckie, calm down, deep breaths,” Johnny calls up to him. “I’m right here, I’ll catch you.”

Donghyuck peeks down with one eye and sees Johnny already bracing himself. Slowly shifting his body, he hangs from the branch before falling right into Johnny’s waiting arms. Johnny must have underestimated how much Donghyuck’s grown because the force of the fall knocks him down, his arm landing awkwardly on a tree root.

Everyone rushes to the scene and Doyoung has to shout over the commotion to give them space. He lifts Donghyuck off of Johnny while Taeyong inspects the counselor for any injuries. Donghyuck seems to be in one piece but he’s still sniffling and trying to wipe his tears on his shirtsleeve.

“Are you okay, Hyuck?” Doyoung asks him softly, rubbing soothing circles on his back.

Donghyuck shakes his head and wails, “I killed Johnny!”

Doyoung hears a burst of laughter beside them and Donghyuck stops crying just to see Johnny’s shoulders shaking in amusement.

“I’m fine, Hyuckie, just a little sprain. See?” Johnny lifts up his hand to show that Taeyong had already bandaged up his wrist. “Now, let’s get back before the other campers eat your share of dinner.”

That seems to scare the kids enough and they sprint like little marathon runners all the way back to camp. Doyoung has to exert all the energy he has left just to keep up, leaving it to Taeyong to assist Johnny because he can’t seem to look him in the eyes right now.

***

Johnny doesn’t come to dinner that night, probably stuck in the infirmary. The nurses are always way too smitten by Johnny and never berate him for getting into trouble, so Doyoung sneaks off during the bonfire to give him a piece of his mind. Just as he predicted, Johnny’s sitting up on one of the small beds, chatting and laughing with the nurse in charge.

Doyoung coughs to get his attention and the nurse excuses herself to clean up her supplies. He stalks over to the foot of Johnny’s bed, arms crossed and mind racing with all the things he wants to say, trying to keep his temper in check.

“Bunny? What are you doing h — ”

“What were you  _ thinking?  _ Donghyuck could have gotten seriously hurt!  _ You  _ could have — ugh. You are just so… so  _ infuriating! _ ” Doyoung almost shouts, still pissed at how reckless Johnny always acts. For the first time ever, his words wipe the smile off of Johnny’s face.

“I know, I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” Johnny starts but Doyoung’s not ready to hear it.

“Exactly! You weren’t thinking. You know how much trust these kids’ parents put on us to take care of them. You know we need every single pair of working hands around here. But there you go, breaking your bones, making m — everyone worried!”

“My wrist isn’t broken…” Johnny mutters, sounding like all the fight in him was gone.

“You got lucky this time.” Doyoung turns around and storms off, suddenly feeling like he needs to be alone. He sits down under a tree, back against its trunk, away from the campers and other counselors who are still singing their usual camp songs around the fire.

He doesn’t understand what he got so worked up for. He’s told off Johnny before but he’s never actually gotten  _ that  _ angry at him. It was just a sprain too… So, why?

  
  


**Week 4**

“It’s simple. You were worried about him,” Taeyong says, in that matter-of-fact tone of his.

They’re currently busy setting up a game of capture the flag that’ll decide which cabin gets the trophy once and for all. Doyoung doesn’t really have the heart to play, all the fire from wanting to beat Johnny has pretty much been extinguished. They haven’t spoken in days, but this time instead of Doyoung avoiding his nemesis, it’s been the other way around. Johnny’s been dutifully working and taking care of his kids, barely sparing Doyoung a smile or even a glance even during their down time.

It’s been bothering Doyoung. He still doesn’t know why, but he wants to say something. Apologize, maybe? Anything to get things back to normal, before the summer ends or else this feeling will keep him up at night all year.

“But what should I do? He doesn’t even want to look at me…” Doyoung says, picking at the blue flag in his hands.

“Just tell him the truth. I’m sure Johnny will appreciate the straightforward approach.”

Doyoung hums, surveying the area, making sure that they’ve set up enough hiding places while mulling over Taeyong’s advice.

***

Doyoung’s been so wrapped up in the Johnny Incident that he hasn’t even had the time to formulate a plan for his cabin. He sighs, deciding to let it go and just let his campers have fun doing whatever they want. Jaemin’s off shooting everyone he sees with his water gun while Jeno follows close behind, always watching his back. Shotaro’s still struggling with the rules so he sticks close with his bunkmates.

Doyoung’s left to venture towards enemy territory alone. Maybe he’ll get lucky and no one will be guarding their flag. It was a long shot but he really didn’t have any better ideas, so he takes cover behind trees, eyes and ears on alert.

He hears laughter coming from his left side and it doesn’t sound like any of his campers. Right up ahead he sees Donghyuck and Renjun watching each other’s backs, water guns at the ready. He has no choice but to run straight through a clearing and into the cover of trees on the other side.

“Doyoung?”

His name sounds odd coming from Johnny’s mouth. He hasn’t called Doyoung by his name ever since Ten found a video of a rabbit eating and compared it to him. He remembers how amused Johnny was, and he never managed to get rid of the nickname that came from it. He hates to admit that he kind of misses it already.

“Johnny — ”

“I’m sorry, I’ll get out of your way,” Johnny says, already backing away. Doyoung’s tongue feels heavy in his mouth but he knows he has to say something, the strange tension getting to be too much to bear.

“No, I’m sorry.”

Johnny stops and turns around to face Doyoung again, waiting for him to go on. He takes a deep breath, trying to organize what he wants to say, but much like with the game, he doesn’t really have a plan.

“I didn’t mean to yell at you. Well, I mean I  _ did.  _ But…”

“It’s okay, Doyoung,” Johnny says, waving him off. “I get it. I’ve been a pain in your ass and it went too far. I’m sorry for annoying you all this time.”

“No.” Doyoung surges forward and grabs hold of Johnny’s arm (again, ignoring the flex of Johnny’s bicep under his fingers). “I was mad because I think — no, I realized that I was worried about you. I didn’t like seeing you hurt and I was frustrated because you’d do anything to keep our campers safe even if it meant you had to act reckless.

“And  _ yes,  _ you have annoyed me for years, but you know what? I kinda miss it. Camp isn’t the same without you constantly on my ass.” Doyoung smiles up at Johnny. Johnny, who he’s known for more than half his life, who treats everyone at camp like his own family, who loves to make people laugh and feel good about themselves because that’s just who he is.

“I’ve really only been on your ass because I wanted to look out for you,” Johnny confesses. Doyoung swears he feels the blood rushing to his cheeks, suddenly unable to meet Johnny’s gaze. He’s in the middle of trying to compose himself and formulate a reply when a sharp stream of water hits the back of his head.

“What the — _ Ten? _ ”

“You guys were taking too long,” Ten shrugs, aims, and shoots Johnny square on his chest. “Game’s over, my kids won.” Behind him, his campers are running back towards the mess hall, led by Yangyang who’s carrying a bunch of flags in his arms.

Doyoung feels Johnny’s weight as he leans his forehead against the crown of his head. Johnny’s laugh rumbles through him and Doyoung can’t help but join in.

He fails to notice the four kids snickering and high fiving off to the side.

***

“So you’re saying that they drove us to that clearing just to get us to make up?” Doyoung asks, impressed by the planning that went behind what he thought was a chance meeting with Johnny.

They’re sitting around their last bonfire of the summer, surrounded by kids making s’mores, singing songs, and retelling some of their favorite moments from the past month. He shares a log that’s a bit too small with Johnny, but he doesn’t mind having to be pressed against him, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh.

“Apparently Donghyuck thought it was his fault we weren’t talking and got our other kids to scatter and corner us there. It’s genius, if you ask me, but he scares me sometimes.”

Doyoung laughs at Johnny’s overexaggerated shiver which makes the older boy smile. Gathering up his courage, he leans his head on Johnny’s shoulder, watching as sparks fly up from the fire and disappear into the night sky.

“I’m gonna miss you again, Bunny,” Johnny says softly, his eyes also looking up at the stars.

“Maybe you could um, drive down from uni and we can meet halfway?” Doyoung suggests. Suddenly, waiting a whole year to see Johnny again didn’t sound so appealing.

“I’d love that.”

Another summer is coming to a close, but Doyoung can’t quite feel it. Not when Johnny’s smile feels like a warm ray of sunshine.

**Author's Note:**

> prompter, if you're reading this, i'm sorry i didn't focus on the competition as much. i really wanted to but i had a huge writers block and didn't know how to get around it :(
> 
> i hope you all still enjoyed this silly little thing! i really wanted to choose a summer camp au ever since i wrote snippets of this universe for johntober~
> 
> thank you to mod lucy for organizing another round of jff! don't forget to check out all the other lovely works in the collection!!


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